Bengal batsman Writam Porel was hospitalised on Friday after being hit behind his left ear while fielding at a close-in position in a club match between East Bengal and Bhowanipore.Porel, 26, was fielding at forward short leg in the final of the AN Ghosh Trophy, a three-day league tournament organised by the Cricket Association of Bengal, when he turned to protect himself against a pull shot played by Bhowanipore batsman Prinan Datta. Porel said he was hit under the left ear despite wearing a helmet.The incident brought back memories of the death of former Bengal Under-19 captain Ankit Keshri, who coincidentally suffered the fatal accident while playing for East Bengal against the same opponents, Bhowanipore, in April. Keshri collided with a team-mate while fielding as a substitute and later suffered a cardiac arrest and died in hospital a few days later. Porel, incidentally, was fielding at point when Keshri collided with the bowler, Sourav Mondal.”It was paining but I was conscious,” Porel told ESPNcricinfo. “Fortunately we were playing at the Eden Gardens so there was an ambulance.” Porel was taken to the nearby Nightingale Hospital where Keshri had passed away. According to Porel, there is swelling and stiffness behind his left ear and the doctors have told him the results of the MRI scan would be revealed by Saturday afternoon.Porel, who has played 10 first-class matches for Bengal between 2010 and 2012, admitted the Keshri incident immediately crossed his mind after he was hit on Friday. “I was scared because Ankit was my team-mate, but it is all right. I’m fine. The doctors have told me there might be a partial tear but nothing about any injury to my brain,” he said.
Glamorgan have added to their seam bowling attack for the start of 2016 season by confirming a loan agreement with the Middlesex pace bowler Harry Podmore.Podmore, a graduate from the Middlesex Academy and former MCC Young Cricketer, is yet to appear in first-class cricket, but has featured for Middlesex in limited-overs cricket over the past two seasons.Glamorgan now offer him the chance to break into Championship cricket in the first six matches of the season, beginning with the visit of Leicestershire to Cardiff on April 17, as well as a fixture against Cardiff MCCU fixture the previous week.Podmore, born in Hammersmith, has impressed with his bowling at the death and picked up regular wickets with a controlled yorker becoming something of a trademark weapon.Glamorgan chief executive and director of cricket Hugh Morris said, “We have been aware of the progress Harry has made in recent seasons with Middlesex and his development work with the England fast bowling programme.”He’s a bright, young fast bowling talent who will add depth to our seam bowling department, which is an area we identified needing strengthening. Harry will spend the first 2 months of the season with us before Ruaidhri Smith and Jack Murphy return to the club at the end of May following their University commitments.”With an international calibre bowling attack at Middlesex, there’s an opportunity for him to play some first-class cricket for Glamorgan and we are thankful to Angus Fraser and Middlesex CCC for allowing us to have Harry on loan.Glamorgan also recently signed all-rounder Craig Meschede after he was allowed to leave Somerset.Podmore admitted: “The current strength of the Middlesex seam attack has made it difficult for me to break into the County Championship side, and with limited opportunities available to play red ball cricket here, this is an ideal way for me to not only gain invaluable experience in this format of the game, but also to hopefully help Glamorgan get off to a good start in their own Championship campaign.”He will rejoining Middlesex in readiness for the club’s white ball campaigns.Middlesex’s managing director of cricket, Angus Fraser, said: “Harry continues to develop nicely as a cricketer. He is ready to get his teeth into first-class cricket and, with the fast bowling resources we currently have, we do not see him starting in the 1st XI.”When not playing for Glamorgan 1st XI Harry can return to London to practice his white ball skills, as we do see him featuring in our T20 and 50 over cricket. The loan to Glamorgan to play first-class cricket in April and May will hopefully provide all three parties with what they are looking for.”
Ayush Mhatre will lead India in the 2026 Under-19 World Cup beginning in January in Zimbabwe and Namibia. The 15-member squad also includes Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who has been named captain for the bilateral series against South Africa Under-19 before the World Cup.Mhatre, along with vice-captain Vihaan Malhotra, are currently injured and will not be part of the bilateral series against South Africa. They will report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to manage their wrist injuries and join the team for the Under-19 World Cup.The three youth ODIs against South Africa Under-19 will take place in Benoni on January 3, 5, and 7. The World Cup commences on January 15.Mhatre had led India to the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup in Dubai this December. Suryavanshi, with 261 runs in five games, was India’s second highest run-getter in the tournament. Abhigyan Kundu, the highest scorer with 271 runs, features in both squads.Related
Farhan Yousaf to lead Pakistan at Under-19 World Cup
Tom Jones to lead an experienced New Zealand squad
Thomas Rew to lead England at U-19 World Cup
Suryavanshi is currently part of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s domestic List A competition, where he made 190 for Bihar against Arunachal Pradesh.India are in Group B at the Under-19 World Cup along with New Zealand, USA and Bangladesh. They begin their campaign on January 15 against USA in Bulawayo, followed by matches against Bangladesh on January 17 and New Zealand on January 24.The tournament comprises 16 teams divided into four groups of four each in the first round. Twelve teams – three from each group – will progress to the next round, where the teams will be divided into two groups of six. The top two from each group of six will contest the semi-finals. The tournament begins concludes with the final on February 6 in Harare.
It was do or die for England yesterday and Fabio Capello’s men fell flat on their faces. With the whole nation behind the Three Lions and some misplaced confidence that they could do the job against the Germans, we went into the match thinking that England might just pull it off. But how wrong we were. When Steven Gerrard and co needed to up their level of performance they went in the opposite direction and made sure that the 2010 World Cup will be one to forget for England fans.
Westwood got it spot on in his latest World Cup blog when he said: “We think we’re better than we are actually are,” and no matter how good you thought England were before they kicked off yesterday, they certainly didn’t reach any sort of acceptable level. The relief that was felt across the nation after the Slovenia match turned into one of embarrassment and utter disappointment after 90 minutes of being out-classed by a young German side.
Any theories that that qualifying for the knockout stages would bring the team together were quickly thrown out of the window. The Big Dawg reckoned that Wayne Rooney had no choice but to come good, however that certainly didn’t happen and talk of Wazza being one of the World Cup’s shining lights before the tournament started didn’t come to fruition. Will people let him and the rest of the England boys forget it when the new Premier League season starts? We’ll have to wait and see.
It’s definitely an unforgiving time right now and it’ll be interesting to see with whom the ultimate blame lays, the players or the manager? Whoever is to blame, the emotion of winning is what the nation needed but England just didn’t deliver. There’s no way of getting away from that and this is a missed opportunity that the players and the nation will look back on and rue in years to come. Westwood reckoned that we could have beaten Germany, Argentina, Brazil and then Spain in the final, but we couldn’t even manage to make it to the quarters, let alone the final!
To read Tim Westwood’s third World Cup article in full head to the News of the World website:
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With Liverpool now following up their inquiry with a firm offer for young Rangers defender Danny Wilson, just who is the young Scot?
The 18 year old centre half was a revelation down at Ibrox last season and his ascension to the starting eleven came by circumstance after an injury to first choice defender Algerian Majid Bougherra.
Since that moment Wilson didn’t look out of place and was earning rave reviews for his composure, ability in the air and positional sense on the deck, and it is extremely rare for a young defender to have these qualities in abundance which explains Liverpool’s strong interest in him as well as a plethora of Premier League clubs. In total he’s made 24 appearances, scoring one goal.
The fee being floated about is around the £5m mark which considering the player’s age and relative inexperience seems a fair price outright, with the price likely to be topped up by bonuses and appearance clauses for the future if he delivers on his considerable potential.
David Weir seems to think it won’t be too much of a problem and believes he is destined for the top:
“Danny will handle it,
“He has handled everything else that’s been thrown in his path. He’s a good football player and a nice lad.
“I don’t think it’s rocket science, he just needs to keep doing what he’s been doing. If Danny does go then he will keep doing what he’s doing and stay the same lad that he is.
“He’s a great lad, he has been good to work with, and I wish him every success.”
Wilson is one of the hottest defensive prospects in Europe right now for his age and Liverpool now are front of the queue for his signature, but the consequences of him departing so young could have repercussions for the Glasgow outfit who will soon have to look at replacing captain and fellow centre half David Weir who at 40 years of age is no spring chicken.
With Smith’s hands tied by the club’s crippling debt, losing Wilson could represent a major loss for the former Scotland captain’s heir apparent and although the fee bandied about right now would be useful in the short-term, in the long-term it would hurt Rangers more than they would care to admit.
Written by James McManus
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
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Tottenham Hotspur have been handed renewed hope in their reported interest in trying to sign Brazil striker Luis Fabiano from Spanish side Sevilla.
The 29-year-old had previously ruled out a move to White Hart Lane, but appears to have had a change of heart.
He is quoted as telling ESPN: "I must admit it's only in the last few weeks I have understood just how big Spurs' ambition is."
The South American frontman had previously stated:"I have heard Tottenham Hotspur made an inquiry about me.
"But, with all respect, that is not somewhere I am going to be able to win the Premier League or the European Cup in the next three or four years.
"There would be no point in me joining Tottenham. I might as well stay at Sevilla, as it's the same thing.
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"Sevilla are actually bigger when you look at how much we have been in the European Cup, so there would be no point me moving to a smaller team."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Liverpool have confirmed the signing of Denmark international midfielder Christian Poulsen on a three-year contract from Juventus.
The 30-year-old former Sevilla and Schalke enforcer has joined the Reds for a fee in the region of £4.5million, having spent the last two seasons in Italy.
Poulsen has won more than 70 caps for his country and featured for the Danes at the World Cup finals in South Africa earlier this summer.
Poulsen's compatriot Daniel Agger is confident that his fellow Dane will fit in well on Merseyside.
He commented:"Christian would be a perfect addition to most of the big clubs in Europe, so he will certainly fit in here.
"He is a top player and will make us stronger. We need to have big signings so we can compete and he is one of those players.
"Christian will improve the team, but we need more improvements if we want to be at the top of the league this season."
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"Maybe he will find the pace of here a bit of a culture shock; he will have to get used to the extra high tempo.
"He has played in Italy, Spain and Germany and done very well, so I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be a success with Liverpool."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The English Premiership is renowned for being one of the hardest and most keenly contested leagues in the world. Crunching tackles are common place and many a player would never dream of jumping out of a tackle. But the Premiership’s hardest players have some way to go to compete with one female footballer who is taking competitiveness to a whole new level. 20 year old American defender Elizabeth Lambert certainly gets stuck in when she plays as this video shows:
[youtube UvEobeNfGcc]
Lambert has been banned by her college team for her antics in that match, where she was kicking, punching and yanking opponents to the ground by their hair. Lambert is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying “I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation,” you can say that again. Whilst hard men in the Premier League may not go as far as the American defender during a game, some genuine tough players have played in England in the past. Here is a look at the top ten hardest players to ever play in the Premiership:
10: Jaap Stam – The 6 ft 3 in Manchester United and Netherlands central defender was certainly a formidable opponent to come up against. Stam was a straight character who was said to have a serious approach to football, and he went into every tackle as if it were his last. Centre forwards rarely had the better of battles with the Dutchman as his build and physique was up there with anyone. In his PSV days it is rumoured that a fight on the field immediately ended as soon as Stam came towards the confrontation. He definitely wasn’t a man to be messed with.
9: Colin Hendry – An old fashioned central defender, Hendry was as hard as granite and had an uncompromising approach to the art of defending. His tough nature meant that if the ball was in the air he would go and head it and nothing would get in his way. He once described a swinging elbow as shrugging off another player and was banned for six international matches as a result. The defender led Blackburn to the FA Premier League title back in 1995 and had courage in abundance, which he will need plenty of when he stars in I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here later this year.
8: Neil Ruddock – ‘Razor’ Ruddock was involved in plenty of bust ups during his football career, most famously clashing with Frenchmen Eric Cantona and Patrick Vieira. He seemed to enjoy dishing punishment out to his opponents and brought plenty of steel to the Liverpool defence for a number of years. His reputation as a hard man goes before him and to this day when he still appears in testimonials and charity matches he doesn’t exactly back out of tackles, as celebrity Tim Lovejoy will testify after geting his comeuppance after taking the mickey out of him.
7: Julian Dicks – The West Ham defender would have been more suited to playing football before his time, as he was a traditional hard man. The tough tackler had the nickname ‘The Terminator’ and many of his challenges were enough to make your eyes water. The shaven-headed defender sure had the look of a hard man and his no nonsense approach endeared him to the Hammers’ fans. It seems since retiring he hasn’t lost any of his aggression either, as Dicks has admitted that he has smashed his golf clubs in anger after losing his rag after a fluffed shot.
6: Marco Materazzi – The Italian defender is known as ‘The Matrix’ due to his unpredictable personality and wasn’t adverse to a crunching tackle every now and again. Materazzi seemed to have a switch that when he got angry he took it out on his opponents and illustrated that during his time in the Premiership with Everton. He knew how to wind up opponents as well as the infamous incident with French legend Zidane proves. He was head butted by Zidane after allegedly insulting the Frenchman’s family and got a taste of what he himself dished out during his career.
Continued on Page TWO
5: Patrick Vieira – The Arsenal midfielder wasn’t your typical hard man in terms of thuggish behaviour, but he certainly knew how to commit fouls. The Frenchman wasn’t a psychopath like so many of the traditional hard footballers, but he brought some steel to Wenger’s youthful and skilful team. During his time in the Premiership he picked up ten red cards which is some effort, and had disciplinary problems throughout his time in England. If he returns to the Premier League with Arsenal as has been rumoured, England football fans will get another taste this hard man.
4: Vinnie Jones – A member of Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang, Jones wasn’t afraid to get stuck in on the football pitch. He was well known in English football for his aggressive style and intimidating demeanour and certainly wasn’t a player to mess with. Infamously remembered for grabbing Gascoigne’s privates, Jones was an important part of Wimbledon’s 1988 FA Cup final victory when he went head-to-head with fellow Liverpool hard man Steve McMahon. Since retiring, Jones now plays hard men on the big screen, featuring as a British gangster in many a movie.
3: Duncan Ferguson – The Everton and Newcastle striker often threw his weight around on the pitch and used his height and weight to his advantage. He was regularly on the wrong side of referees for his dominating style of play in which the odd elbow was never far away. Off the pitch Ferguson has had four convictions for assault and most famously was unimpressed when he found two burglars in his house. Ferguson confronted the pair and one of them subsequently spent time in hospital, showing that he wasn’t a person you’d want to get on the wrong side of.
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2: Stuart Pearce – Pearce typifies what it means to play with passion and was always a player who was 100% committed. Nicknamed ‘Psycho’, Pearce was a tough defender who had a distinguished football career, playing for Nottingham Forest amongst others. He was so hard that he even tried to run off a broken leg and on another occasion just got on with the game when Boli head butted him in Malmo. His hard but fair attitude was respected across the country, and he showed what football meant to him by screaming after scoring a penalty for England against Spain at Euro 96.
1: Roy Keane – The Manchester United midfielder was so hard that it was thought that even Sir Alex Ferguson was frightened of him. The uncompromising midfielder was at the heart of United’s Premiership success for a number of years and led the side to many domestic and European trophies. In his most infamous incident on the pitch, he effectively ended the career of Manchester City’s Alf-Inge Haaland with a horrendous revenge tackle where he showed his studs. His determined, aggressive and competitive style of play makes him the ultimate Premiership hard man.
Is there anyone not on this list who you think deserves to be there? How do these hard men compare to the all-time hardest footballers, such as Tommy Smith and Dave Mackay? And can anyone currently playing in the FA Premier League claim to be as hard as those who have gone before them?
Football FanCast brings you another top ten list, this time, featuring the greatest and most unexpected comebacks of all time. Find out who makes the number one spot below-
10. Peterborough 4-4 Cardiff City, 2010
What does a manager say at half-time to a side bottom of the Championship and 4-0 down at home? That’s the position former Peterborough manager Mark Cooper found himself in during a league game at London Road last December.
Changes were made at half-time and The Posh fought back to make it 4-3 with one minute left on the clock through winger George Boyd. Substitute Josh Simpson then grabbed the dramatic equaliser in extra-time. A perplexed Cooper said after the game:
“I didn’t say a lot to the players at half-time – in fact, I thought about getting in my car and going home!”
9. Turkey 3-2 Czech Republic, 2008
EURO 2008 Comeback Kings Turkey scored two goals in the last five minutes to qualify for the knockout stages in Austria & Switzerland, at the expense of opponents Czech Republic.
At 2-0 down with 15 minutes left to play it seemed as though Turkey were heading home. The momentum changed however when Arda Turan made it 2-1. Two late goals from striker Nihat Kahveci secured the unlikely comeback and sent the Turkish fans into ecstasy.
8. West Germany 3-2 England, 1970
Reigning champions England looked comfortable defending a two-goal lead in their World Cup Quarter-Final against West Germany in 1970. Goals from Alan Mullery and Martin Peters had put England in the driving seat
Sir Alf Ramsey then took off star man Bobby Charlton to ‘rest’ him for the semi-finals. The gamble back-fired spectacularly when Germany fought back to level the scores before German legend Gerd Muller scored the winner in extra-time to complete a sensational comeback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_6EEAwm-cE
Click here for PAGE 2 and some real thrillers…
7. Tottenham 3-5 Manchester United, 2001
Tottenham Hotspur were in dreamland after racing into a 3-0 first-half lead, totally outplaying reigning champions Manchester United at White Hart Lane in 2001.
After some Fergie hairdryer treatment at half-time, The Reds were a side transformed in the second-half as Andy Cole, Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian Veron and David Beckham scored to complete the remarkable comeback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2MHphmbp1E
6. Werder Bremen 5-3 Anderlecht, 1994
Belgian side Anderlecht even surprised themselves when after 66 minutes they found themselves 3-0 up away to German side Werder Bremen in the Champions League group stages in 1994.
No-one could have predicted what happened next however with Werder demonstrating that famed German spirit to pull back an astonishing five goals in 23 rollercoaster minutes. A classic Champions League encounter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7S9O1aoytc
5. Tottenham 3-4 Man City, 2004
Ten-man Manchester City pulled of arguably the greatest FA Cup comeback of all-time at White Hart Lane in 2004. Goals from defender Ledley King, Irishman Robbie Keane and a Christian Ziege free-kick put Spurs 3-0 up after 43 minutes.
Midfield enforcer Joey Barton was then sent-off just before half-time and coach Kevin Keegan would have been thinking about damage limitation as he headed to the dressing room. City amazingly managed to level the scores with a fight-back of epic proportions, before forgotten man John Macken headed in a looping 90th minute winner.
A blown away Keegan said after the game:
“They’ll talk about this game long after we’ve all gone”
4. Charlton 7-6 Huddersfield, 1957
It’s not often you see your side score six goals and still lose a game of football. Indeed, no side before or since, has ever managed it since.
That is exactly what happened to Bill Shankly’s Huddersfield side that at one stage had held a 5-1 lead over ten-men Charlton. The Addicks then fired in five goals in 19 minutes before The Terriers drew level at 6-6. With seconds left, four-goal hero Johnny Summers crossed for John ‘Buck’ Ryan to make it an unbelievable 7-6. Shankly allegedly didn’t talk to anyone for days after the game. Read the match report HERE.
Click here to find out the TOP 3 football comebacks of all time…
3. Manchester United 2-1 Bayern Munich, 1999
Despite only overturning a one-goal deficit, the timing and manner of Manchester United’s dramatic Champions League win over Bayern Munich in 1999 ensures this crazy night at Barcelona’s Nou Camp goes down as one of the greatest comebacks of all-time.
Trailing for most of the match to Mario Basler’s sixth minute strike, substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer both scored in injury-time to secure an unprecedented Treble for United. “Name on the trophy!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JybopUgbvfE
2. Angola 4-4 Mali, 2010
The opening game of the African Cup of Nations produced one of the most spectacular comebacks ever seen in football. Host nation Angola were cruising at 4-0 with 11 minutes left before Mail scored four times to level the game, with striker Mustapha Yatabare netting the equaliser in the last-minute of extra-time.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhWeSypwQ7Q
1. AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool, 2005
Liverpool pulled off the greatest comeback of all-time in the 2005 Champions League Final against Italian side AC Milan. 3-0 down at half-time and sinking without a trace, The Reds scored three goals in an astonishing seven-minute second-half spell.
Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko then missed from point-blank range before The Reds clinched their fifth European Cup with a penalty shootout victory. Watch the epic encounter in the brilliant video below.
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Liverpool old boy taking the Championship by storm
Older custodians of the game can seem sanctimonious when complaining about the youth of today. The typical refrain is that these young starlets, bolstered by their aggressive agents are demanding excessive wages before they have proved their worth. But when that view is voiced by current Premier League stars such as Ryan Giggs and Didier Drogba, is it time for football to take note? These two decorated players have achieved a substantial amount and are still consistent performers in their thirties. The context in which young players break through to the professional ranks today is markedly different. By receiving too much too soon are today’s youngsters lacking the drive and work ethic of these two influential players?
At the age of 36 Giggs won the PFA Player’s Player of the Year in April and the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Award last December. Cynics may argue, with some justification, that the Welshman had won the sentimentality vote. Nonetheless it was testament to the performances he has delivered over the years, being the only player to score in every PL season. When questioned in a recent Guardian interview about the substantive money now sloshing about the system, even for youngsters, he said, “It just takes your eye of the ball. And you’re not as hungry as players used to be. You think you’ve made it before you’ve done anything.”
Giggs’ long-time agent Harry Swales concurred. “They get to be 16 or 17, they score two or three goals, the newspapers blow them up to be something superhuman.” Giggs revealed that when he made his first team debut as a 17-year old he was paid around £40 a week. To say that today’s climate is million miles away would be an understatement. The former Wales international is perfectly comfortable with the concept of a footballer earning vast sumes (he is worth a reported £24 million) but evidently believes you have to pay your dues first. His comments correlate with Chelsea’s Drogba who spoke nostalgically about his formative years when returning to the club where it all began, Levallois on the outskirts of Paris. Former coach Srebrenko Repicic said, “In his first season, Didier was only paid if we won. The bonus was 200 Euros, which was a lot of money for him, but if we lost he got nothing.” His distaste for losing has persisted and he fondly remembers his time there. “This is where you learn your values, like sharing and solidarity. They are sometimes lost in pro football.”
But do the words of Giggs and Drogba resonate? They manifestly do in the blue half of Manchester where Roberto Mancini has warned Adam Johnson to stay grounded. Given the winger’s form he may have seemed an unlikely target but the Italian disciplinarian clearly maintains that he can improve and work harder. Additionally there was outrage in some quarters at the wage demands of their summer signing Mario Balotelli. The volatile but highly talented former Inter Milan starlet is yet to feature in the PL. The Milanese Champions League winners allegedly offered to double his wages but the 19-year old opted for a transfer and the opportunity to earn £180,000 a week. Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was unusually downbeat when appearing on a BBC documentary concerning England’s chances at the next World Cup. He questioned the ability of the next generation when compared to their inflated egos and forthright agents.
However young, emerging players cannot be blamed for the milieu in which they operate. Since the likes of Giggs and Drogba broke through football, for good or ill, has altered fundamentally. Would they have rejected the grand opportunities being offered to Balotelli and others. Moreover the majority of fans are unperturbed by the scale of players’ wages but particularly if they are perceived to have earned them. By definition young prospects, yet to reach their twenties, have not earned the right to command such lucrative contracts. Youngsters could still be handed these contracts but with a caveat that wages will incrementally rise in tandem with performances. The argument may seem needlessly moralistic but proven winners such as Giggs attribute their enduring spirit and character to a relatively humble start.
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